When the Grimsby teen goes out of the country, it’s a near certainty he’ll be pulled aside by airport or border officials and questioned.

The high school senior’s family believes he, like a handful of other Canadian youths who have made recent headlines, have somehow made their way onto a no-fly list.

Harrison’s first attempt to board a plane came at age 8, when he travelled from Buffalo alongside family to Walt Disney World in Florida.

As others with the group boarded with ease, Harrison was asked to step aside.

“At first we thought it was a random check. I mean, he was 8,” mom Pamela Vien recalled.

“We thought it would be resolved quickly.”

After delaying the plane more than an hour, Harrison was told, without explanation, he could board.

Questions swirled among plane passengers about whether the youngster’s identity had been stolen or if he had the same name as someone flagged on a no-fly list, Pamela said.

The family just chalked it up to a random security check — until it happened again on the trip home.

“That’s when we realized there was something going on,” the mother-of-two said.

“I asked the flight attendant why my eight-year-old child was on a no-fly list and whether she had a record of anyone flagged with the same name as him.”

The response came in the form of a few simple clicks of a terminal keyboard and an assurance there wouldn’t be any further problems, she said.

But when the family opted to take a cruise in 2012 — and a trip across the border last year — Harrison was stopped in his tracks.

The travel headaches, not experienced by anyone else in the Vien family, have caused delays, but have never prevented the teen from reaching his destination.

“They realize from seeing him that he isn’t a threat,” Pamela said.

“The worst thing he’s ever done is stayed up past his bedtime.”

She worries, however, the issue may escalate after Harrison turns 18 later this year.

“It makes you wonder if he’s going to have more problems when he’s an adult,” she said.

“When he wants to fly on his own or later on with his own family, is he going to have that much more difficulty?

“You start to think about identity theft, then panic starts to set in. What if there’s someone out there with Harrison’s name? When he tries to apply for student loans, is he going to have problems. So many things run through your head.”

Feeling hassled, Harrison is hesitant to make travel plans outside of Canada.

The Grimsby Secondary School student thought about heading south for March break, but is cautious about committing because of airport worries hanging over his head.

“I feel more trapped than anything,” he said, adding he’d like to see more of the world beyond Canada’s boundaries without the headaches that seem paired with his passport.

“It doesn’t make me feel like a Canadian citizen,” he said.

“It makes me feel like an outsider almost, like I’m not allowed to live freely in and out of my own country.”

The family has always been unsure of how to deal with the issue.

When Pamela began hearing news recently about other Canadian minors with experiences similar to her son’s, she realized a resolution may be possible.

It motivated her to begin calling local elected officials in hopes of learning what course of action can be taken.

“We just want some answers.”

In a statement issued last week, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government understands the “frustration of law-abiding travellers whose plans are interrupted as a result of false positives arising in the security screening of airline passenger manifests.”

“We have heard the concerns of those who have gone through additional security screening that this situation can cause confusion and feelings of stigmatization.”

Public Safety Canada officials, he said, have contacted air carriers to clarify existing Secure Air Travel Regulations and to emphasize additional security screening validation is not required for minors.

Goodale said the department is also “exploring possible regulatory amendments” to help differentiate individuals from other people with similar or same names listed under the Passenger Protect Program.

The PPP is a list of individuals the minister has reasonable grounds to suspect may threaten transportation security or may travel by air to commit terrorism offences.

It is reviewed at least every 90 days.

Only the names, dates of birth and genders of listed individuals are provided to air carriers for the purpose of screening passengers on flights from, destined for or within Canada.

Public Safety Canada spokesperson Mylene Croteau called it “important to recognize that there are many reasons individuals may not be allowed to board a flight or may experience delays at the airport that are unrelated to the Passenger Protect Program.

“For example, other countries, as well as airlines, maintain various security-related lists with different criteria and thresholds, which may result in delays for individuals travelling to, from or even within Canada.”

Delays, she said, may occur for “passengers who have the same name as a person listed under the PPP, or another security-related list such as the U.S. no-fly list.”

To alleviate any potential delays and inconveniences, passengers who have experienced problems in the past, she said, can “contact the airline’s customer service representative to explain their situation and to see what steps can be taken prior to arriving at the airport.”